by Hilary Ayer
The Senior Professor is a non-player character. Tadashi, Reina Erikson, two of the graduate students, and the Tai-i MUST be player characters. The other characters may be NPCs. NOTE: These are not beginning level characters. In all cases improvements for'previous experience' have been made. Senior Professor Nobu Murarnasa (NPC) In his late fifties, he has white hair and eyebrows. He is fussy in mannerism, pompous in appearance. Muramasa is a short man, with the classic features of his samurai ancestors. He dresses in a bureaucrat's uniform. He has a secret weakness - a bad heart limits him to a low-stress, low-gravity environment. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
x2
Keiko Muramasa Now in her forties, with gray hair, she was once a beauty. Keiko's face shows the ravages of years of sheltering her husband from the world (and vice versa). Her field of interest is Star League history. She is a quiet person with an impish sense of humor--one that is seen in her response to events rather than being expressed verbally. Keiko will not wear classic formal dress on a space station, but her clothes somehow carry the feel of kimono and obi. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well
Equipped
Tadashi Matsumoto An energetic black man in his late thirties and member of an old Kuritan noble family, he lacks a sense of humor; but he is a true scholar. He puts up with the Senior Professor's fussy mannerisms because the man is brilliant in his field and Tadashi is still learning from him. Tadashi is usually seen carrying a reader or pile of printouts. To him, his work is his life. He exercises regularly but not enthusiastically, so he is reasonably f it. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped x2
The archaeologists are a couple, Peter and Reins Li Erikson. Peter Erikson, 55, was directing a dig on Vega II as the young Assistant Professor of Archeology at the University of Radstadt when Rasalhague declared its independence. He chose to remain a Kuritan citizen, seeking new sponsorship for his work from the Albiero Prefecture chapter of the Order of Five Pillars. Peter is completely loyal to the 05P mysticism, serving as a lay member of the order. His faith, his work and his wife complete his existence; he has no curiosity or interest beyond them. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
x2
Reina Li Erikson, 52, was a scout assigned to the 10th Legion of Vega. She retired fifteen years ago to pursue the archaeological career that lack of finances had forced her to abandon in her youth. Reina met her husband while spending one summer working on a dig, and completed her education while working with him. Her doctorate is honorary, but well deserved. She writes both the scholarly reports for the University and the popular accounts of their joint works, which have ensured the Eriksons' financial security. Reina was an asset to her unit as a scout; and she has forgotten none of her training. In a combat situation, she will consider and suggest close-quarter fighting, booby traps, and diversionary tactics. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well
Equipped
The graduate students have all been chosen for their ability to get along in a limited environment; rather than neuroses, their quirks are traits of their individual personalities. Bhalan Singh, 25, is a Sikh, wearing the turban of his religion with a light environmental suit. Born in space, he is the most used to a ship or station environment, and has more of the discipline required to live there of any of the party. He keeps to himself, but is always polite; though he is more friendly with the men of the party than with the women. Bhajan loves to pour over the data which accumulates, and to look for patterns and clues to the formation of planetary systems. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped,
Ambidextrous
Marion Stone, 30, is a dramatic man. He is the outgoing sort of person who makes a humorous tale out of every small incident. His chief astronomical interest is stellar life cycles, while his main hobby is Irish poetry. With the ladies, he is flirtatious, and is friendly in a familiar way with all the men. He records long messages to his wife, who is back on Luthien awaiting their first child. Dark of hair and eye, he sports a small beard. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
Tobias Darren looks like the popular image of a scholar. He is round-faced, seeming younger than his twenty seven years; and his mouse brown hair perpetually falls in his face. His current project is the collation of four centuries of photographs of the Andromeda galaxy. He is indeed absorbed in his work, always carrying photographs around with him. Tobias is something of a practical joker. His jokes are usually elaborate, painless, and anonymous. Bhajan Singh and Sara Nakamura know about his jokes; the others think him a colorless, meek sort of person. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped Ralph Alvarez is the best looking of the students. At 28, he is ambitious to publish and go on to the next stage of his career. He defers to the Senior Professor's vanity, and has succeeded in winning Muramasa's favor. His particular interest in astrophysics is the dynamics of solar wind phenomena. Ralph wears a small mustache, and clothes which show off his excellent musculature. He has published three monographs jointly with the Senior Professor. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
Muramasa is a traditionalist; therefore, his female graduate students cultivate a subservient manner. Sara Nakamura , 29, was raised in a traditional family, so her manners are automatic and do not reflect any real feelings of deference. She has already published a monograph on the dynamics of asteroidal orbits. Sara wears her black hair in a long braid, and is tidy as a cat. Her ambition rivals Ralph's, but she is more skilled at concealing it. Attributes Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
Beryl Papadapoulos, 32, is striking. Commandingly tall, her features are like Athena on an old Greek coin. As expedition recorder, she keeps the official log, arranges time-sharing for the sensor array, and acts as a peacemaker when conflicts arise. Her first doctorate was in psychology, so she is able to keep her sense of proportion despite any ego-storm that arises. She is one of the fortunate people who need little sleep; six hours a night suffices for her. Beryl is currently working on a doctorate in astrophysical engineering; she is studying the Star League equipment and evaluating it for use in combination with modern tech. She likes reading poetry with Marlon, having published a small volume, Star Spawn (Jeanette University Press, 3048). Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
The Tabi (PC) Tai-i (Captain) Kenichi Muramasa, is conscious of being a hotshot warrior in the best of the best regiments in the Draconis Combine, which is the best of all possible realms. Surprisingly, he is as good as he thinks he is at what he does. Being stationed on the capitol of Luthien, he has friends who are aides to the general staff and knows as much as anyone can about the Clans invaders. Normally he would be closed-mouthed about the Clans and their tactics, however, once the station is under attack, he will volunteer whatever information he knows (whatever player actually knows). He has a great wish to duel a Clans Warrior one-on-one. To him, honor is all, and he often daydreams of dying a heroic death. Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Advantages: Well Equipped
Battlemaster-K: A variant of the 3025 'Mech, using a Battlemaster captured during the 3039 War as a base. The machine-guns and ammunition were removed, as were the rearfiring medium lasers. The PPC was replaced with two large lasers, and one extra ton of ammo for the SRM-6 was added. This keeps much of the long-range firepower of the original design while adding a heavy punch for close-in fighting. The loss of the rearfiring capability makes the Battlemaster-K a 'Mech for the experienced MechWarrior only. The Tai-i worked closely with his unit's Techs on his refit of the design. Attention Players:
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